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This vegan aguachile verde recipe (Aguachile Estilo Nayarit) is spicy, tangy, and designed to be eaten on the beach on top of tostadas with a nice cold beer! In this vegan version, oyster mushrooms are marinated in a lime juice, cilantro, and serrano pepper mixture then mixed with sliced crisp cucumber and sliced red onion.

What is Aguachile?

Aguachile (literally chile water) is a type of ceviche thought to have originated on the coasts of Sinaloa. It is traditionally made with shrimp and like ceviche consists of marinating fresh seafood in a lime juice-chile mixture. It differs from other ceviches in that the marinating time is much shorter and the marinating mixture is very spicy. You can find aguachile verde and aguachile rojo as well. It is usually served as an appetizer on tostadas.

Our Vegan Mexico Project

This recipe is part of an amazing project called Our Vegan Mexico, where 32 talented cooks will be showcasing, right here on Dora’s Table, 32 vegan Mexican recipes. Each recipe will be representing one state of the Mexican union.

With this project, I am hoping to encourage the Mexican community in the U.S., and the people of my country to take a chance and make the change to a plant-based diet. This recipe, which is representing the state of Nayarit, is the creation of the talented Kimberly Rosales from @vivaverduras and here she is sharing her story with us.

Kimberly’s Story:

I decided to change my diet in Junior high (age 13) to a vegetarian based diet after making a bet with a friend on who can go the longest. After discovering PETA and watching a few of their videos, I was motivated to make it an actual real diet of mine.

After a couple of years struggling on how to eat without meat, and getting tired of pb&j sandwiches, I discovered my passion for cooking and creating recipes that catered to my diet. In 2011, I was convinced to incorporate seafood in my diet and I became pescatarian for a couple of years. After not feeling right, I watched a video from a Youtuber named FreeLee.

Although I didn’t agree with a lot with her or her choices, I did come to a realization that I didn’t want to consume any fish or dairy products. I actually changed my diet cold turkey (no pun intended) and went fully plant-based. I had a few occasional slip-ups but fully committed this past year. After discovering the endless substitutes, I found there was no need to go back. Now, I look to encourage and educate those in my community to try out a plant-based diet and show the versatility of recipes that one can create. My goal is to share my idea of, “Add the veggies, keep the culture!”

The Vegan Aguachile Verde Recipe

To make this authentic Mexican recipe vegan oyster mushrooms are used to replace the shrimp. The earthiness and texture of the mushrooms make it the perfect substitute. Without a doubt, this is the best aguachile recipe out there!

It might seem like this is way too much lime juice, but I promise it’s not.

Vegan Aguachile Verde (Aguachile Estilo Nayarit)

Vegan Aguachile Verde recipe, in this vegan version oyster mushrooms, are used to replace the shrimp. Serve with tostadas and avocado.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword aguachile, ceviche, vegan mexican recipes

Prep Time20minutes

Marinating time4hours

Total Time22minutes

Servings4Servings

144kcal

AuthorDora S.

Ingredients

Salsa:

2Serrano peppers

1Garlic clove

¼White onion

4Limes

1cupCilantro,stems removed

Salt and pepper to taste

Aguachile:

7-8King Oyster Mushrooms, medium size(about 1.25 lb.)

2Cucumbers,peeled and gutted

1Red onion,thinly sliced

5Limes

Salt & pepper to taste

3Small seaweed sheets crumpled and sprinkled before serving

Preparation

Preparing the mushrooms:

Clean mushrooms with a damp towel, do not wash since it will change the texture of the mushroom. Cut the mushroom stems, you can cut the top as well but I like the texture

Shred them with two forks so they have a "shredded chicken" look. Place them in a large bowl, and marinate with 4-5 squeezed limes and pink salt, refrigerate for about 4 hours (I marinated mine over night.)

To make the salsa:

Place the serrano peppers, garlic, onion, juice of 4 limes, and cilantro in the blender and process until smooth.

Making the aguachile:

Cut the cucumbers in half and gut the cucumber so they resemble a “c” shape, slice thinly. Cut the onion into thin slices. Add cucumbers and onions to a large bowl.

Pour serrano salsa over the cucumber/onion mix. Marinate for 2 – 4 hours. (I marinated it overnight.) Squeeze additional lime juice if needed, I like it very citrusy but this is optional.

After the marinating time is done, combine mushrooms and cucumber/onion mix, add salt to taste, and top with avocado and extra cilantro.

I like to add my seaweed right before serving so it doesn't get too soggy.

Chef's Notes

• It might seem like this is way too much lime juice, but I promise it’s not.

• You can reduce the amount of chiles if you can’t take the heat.

• If mushrooms aren’t your thing you can make aguachile with hearts of palm.

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Sweltering summer heat can only mean one thing, paletas!!! These cucumber-chile paletas are the perfect cucumber popsicle, not to spicy, sweet, and just the right amount of tart. (You can put lime and chile on almost anything and I’d totally eat it.) We are so happy to be participating once again in Lola’s Cocina Paleta Week. This year there are 10 vegan paletas! So be sure to head over there and check it out and share with #paletaweek.

Mexico has a history of unconventional ice cream flavors, some of them are even trendy now, but Mexico has been doing it for years. Some of the most popular ones are corn, avocado, arroz con leche, rose petal, and tequila and lime.

The beginning of the paleta industry can be traced to Tocumbo, Michoacan in the 1930’s. Where a family business, la Michoacana, flourished and spread to the rest of the country. You can find a Michoacana in almost any town in Mexico, and without a doubt you will be able to find vegan options there.

To find your vegan options, simply ask for paletas or helado de agua, which means from water. Paletas and helado de agua are made with a water base, and are just as delicious as there milky counterparts. One of the greatest things about Mexican paletas and ice cream is that they are made with local and fresh fruit. What are your favorite paleta flavors??

The Recipe: Cucumber-Chile Paletas (Cucumber Popsicles)

You don’t have to use a fancy cucumber to make this (a.k.a english cucumbers), a regular one will do.

Make sure to peel and remove the seeds.

Our favorite chile powder for this is Tajín, which is now available at most grocery stores.

What?? A vegan Mexican shrimp cocktail, how is that even possible? Well it is my friend, with a little creativity I was able to recreate my favorite cóctel de camarón. A mixture of artichoke hearts, onion, diced cucumber, avocado, and cilantro are tossed with a spicy lime tomato sauce. You can serve it with saltines or chips and it would be perfect with a light refreshing beer.

Last week was the start of lent, and in Mexico this also means the start of the lenten season food. Almost like when you know it’s lent because everyone starts selling fish fillet sandwiches, but way better. Many of the lenten dishes are vegetarian, but most of them are seafood based. I am very excited about trying to veganize a lot of my favorite ones. In the mean time you can try these tempura cauliflower bites, cauliflower ceviche, hearts of palm aguachile, and this very traditional capirotada.

I was supposed to post this last week, but I got so busy with preparing my class and speech for the #weallgrow conference which was amazing by the way! I will be posting a recap of the whole experience soon. I’m still taking it all in. I have returned with renewed sense of purpose and I am very motivated to keep sharing recipes and helping spread the word about the vegan lifestyle.

As far as my pregnancy goes, I am around 5 months along and I am hungry all the time!! All the time! It’s hard not to spend the whole day eating. The good thing it’s that I’m trying to avoid all the vegan junk food and focus more on whole foods. My blood tests have been completely normal, which is great, even though my mom keeps insisting I need more protein.

The Recipe: Vegan Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

I used artichoke hearts, because I couldn’t find any hearts of palm and I was happy with the results. Ideally I think a combination of both would work better. To add a bit of fishiness to the recipe I chopped up some roasted seaweed and added that to the cocktail. This is completely optional, but a good choice if you are yearning for a seafood taste. Serve up your vegan Mexican shrimp cocktail with a light beer like Pacífico. Enjoy!

Chef's Notes

You can substitute the artichoke hearts for hearts of palm or use a combination of both. I was not able to find seaweed powder so I improvised by chopping my own seaweed. If you can’t find tomato purée, you can make some yourself by blending a can of diced tomato.

Aguachile is traditional Mexican dish, similar to ceviche, served on the coast of Mexico. It is usually made with shrimp. If you had been wondering how to make aguachile vegan look no more. For this vegan version I have used hearts of palm as the main ingredient. The tanginess of the lime intermixes with the spiciness of the serranos, and the crunchiness of the red onion really lifts up the hearts of palm. Eat it on it’s own or on a salad, but I think it’s best served on crispy tostadas with creamy avocado slices and a nice cold beer.

I know most of you are already in full swing of pumpkin season, but I’m kind of still stuck in summer, since the heat doesn’t seem to want to die down here. What better to cool down the than a spicy hearts of palm aguachile or ceviche??

Halloween is right around the corner and it look like it’s going to be Star Wars crazy. Up until a couple of weeks ago I had never watched a single one of the Star Wars movies. I can’t blame this one on growing up in Mexico, because I know there are a lot of Mexican Star Wars fans out there.

Maybe it’s because I have three sisters, and no brothers. However, ask me anything about Disney movies and I can probably answer in a heart beat. Since the new Star Wars movie is coming out in December my husband has been introducing me to the series. I’ve mostly enjoyed it, but I do have to say I find C-3PO very annoying. A lot of things make sense now though, like Indiana Jones and a thousand other cultural references. I can’t believe it took me so long to watch them.

The Recipe: How to make Aguachile vegan??

You might have to try several brands of hearts of palm and see which one you like best. Some are more tender than others.

The recipe calls for 1 serrano pepper, but if you don’t eat a lot of spicy food I would only use 1/2 or even a 1/3 of a pepper.